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CloudSat News

2018

CloudSat momentum wheel anomaly and status

January 24, 2018

CloudSat is currently in standby mode due to a spacecraft momentum wheel anomaly. Due to safety concerns, the CloudSat spacecraft will be executing a maneuver to lower it’s orbit and leave the A-Train. If that maneuver is successful, CloudSat should return to daytime-only operation sometime in the mid-February timeframe. Co-located CloudSat and CALIPSO data products will only be available after the orbit change, and co-located MODIS-AUX products will only be available during the period where CloudSat flies under the MODIS data swath. ECMWF-AUX products will continue to be produced along with radar-only standard CloudSat products.

2017

CloudSat Reaction Wheel Anomaly

July 10, 2017

The CloudSat spacecraft entered standby mode on June 4th, 2017 after experiencing a problem with one of its four reaction wheels. Tests are underway to determine how to solve the problem and resume operations.

R05 Product Release

April 13, 2017

CloudSat is announcing the release of the first batch of R05 data products to the General Science Community. Products included in this release are:

Note that in addition to product-specific improvements that will be detailed in forthcoming documentation there are two changes users need to be aware of. Profiles that were previously not included in R04 data files because of spacecraft/instrument issues are included in R05. If the Data_quality field is not zero for a profile users will either want to skip the profile or examine the other data status flags to determine if it should be used. Also, R05 filenames now include “_F00” for possible fixes within a released product version.

These products are in the process of being added to the DPC web ordering page and product documents are being updated. Look for status updates in the coming days on the DPC home page. Please report any issues or questions to the DPC at cloudsat@colostate.edu.

2016

CloudSat releases algorithm uncertainty study

September 1, 2016

The CloudSat algorithm development leads have completed a synthesis of algorithm uncertainties. The synopsis describes the known uncertainties in the Cloudsat algorithms and provides the relevant technical and peer reviewed references for data end-users. The algorithm development team plans to update the document periodically as new data releases become available.

CloudSat's 10th Anniversary

April 28, 2016

Ten years ago on April 28th, 2006, the CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites were launched into orbit. Since then both spacecraft have been gathering data to support cloud research, weather forecasting and climate modeling. Check out the Colorado State University press release.

New Data Ordering System

April 15, 2016

Dear CloudSat DPC User,

Our new data distribution system is now live. While your username has been transferred the new system, you will need to update your password on the DPC website at http://www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu/user/password to use the data ordering page and direct access FTP server.

2015

The New CloudSat DPC Website

March 5, 2015

The DPC website has been given a new look and the structure has been redesigned to make it easier to find information about the CloudSat data products and associated resources. Though we have done our best to ensure a smooth transition, please let us know if you encounter any problem while using this site through the Contact Us link under the Home tab above.

-The DPC Team

2014

New Product: 2D-CLOUDSAT-POES

May 5, 2014

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new product: 2D-CLOUDSAT-POES. This product covers the mission from 2007 to 2012 and contains subset data from intersects between the CloudSat orbit and those of various polar orbiters including NOAA-15 through 19 and MetOp-A. It was generated by Gerrit Holl at the Division of Space Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Kiruna, Sweden. More info can be found on its data product page.

2013

2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR E06 issue

February 12, 2013

As a result of an issue that affects the quality of the product, 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR for epoch 6* is no longer available for download. After the 2011 battery anomaly the CloudSat spacecraft can no longer maintain tight formation with CALIPSO. It has been discovered that the distance threshold in the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR algorithm is now rejecting most of the lidar data effectively resulting in a radar-only product.

Discussions are underway to resolve the issue and updates will be posted here on the DPC web page.

* E06: The current time period starting 15 May 2012 characterized by CloudSat's return to the A-Train following the 2011 battery anomaly .

2C-SNOW-PROFILE released to the CloudSat Science Team

February 10, 2013

The CloudSat DPC has released to the CloudSat Science Team the R04 version of the 2C-SNOW-PROFILE (snow water content and snowfall rate) product. After a short review period of approximately two weeks the product will be released to the general science community.

All data users are asked to review the updated documentation available on the CloudSat DPC website. In addition, we ask that you report any anomalies or questions about the product to the DPC at cloudsat@cira.colostate.edu before the review period has ended.

2011

CloudSat Level 3 Product Available

October 20, 2011

The level 3 product is derived from 2B-GEOPROF and contains the monthly-mean joint histograms of radar reflectivity and height and radar-determined total cloud fraction. The histograms and documentation are available at the Level 3 website. Points of contact are Yuying Zhang and Roger Marchand.

Spacecraft and Data Status Update

July 31, 2011

After a battery anomaly on 17 April 2011, the CloudSat spacecraft ceased collecting data and lost formation with the A-Train. Daylight-only data collection resumed on 27 October 2011. CloudSat returned to the A-Train on 15 May 2012, and a maneuver to achieve footprint overlap with CALIPSO was performed on 18 July 2012.

For data collected while CloudSat was out of formation (E05), there isn't corresponding MODIS and CALIPSO data. MODIS-AUX, 2B-TAU and 2B-CWC-RVOD require MODIS data and the LIDAR products require CALIPSO data, so these products will not be produced for this period. The 1B-CPR, ECMWF-AUX, 2B-GEOPROF, and 2B-CLDCLASS products have been released for E05 and E06 (the current period since CloudSat returned to the A-Train). MODIS-AUX has been released for E06.

2008

2D-CLOUDSAT-TRMM data available via direct FTP

October 28, 2008

You can now access 2D-CLOUDSAT-TRMM data via direct FTP access at ftp1.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu. FTP access is enabled within five minutes of registering for a new account, or for accounts set up before 29 Oct 2008, within five minutes of your first login after this date. Data are stored in directories by product name, year, and day number. A perl script that will retrieve data in the directory tree given a range of dates is available from the resources page.

Reprocessed R04 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR released to the General Science Community

July 15, 2008

The CloudSat DPC has released, to the General Science Community, a reprocessed R04 version of the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR product. This is the version that has been modified to account for the off-nadir pointing of CALIPSO and the CALIPSO VFM Version 2 reprocessing. The new files are identified as "P1_R04" (the previous version was "P_R04").

All data users are asked to review the updated documentation. In addition, please visit the "Known Issues" page of the Data Processing Center website and familiarize yourself with these issues before using the results in publications or presentations.

Reprocessed R04 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR released to the Science Team

June 2, 2008

The CloudSat DPC has released, to the CloudSat Science Team, a reprocessed R04 version of the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR product. This is the version that has been modified to account for the off-nadir pointing of CALIPSO and the CALIPSO VFM Version 2 reprocessing. The new files are identified as "P1_R04" (the previous version was "P_R04").

After a review period of approximately 30 days, the product will be released to the General Science Community.

All data users are asked to review the updated documentation. In addition, please visit the "Known Issues" page of the Data Processing Center website and familiarize yourself with these issues before using the results in publications or presentations.

2007

CALIPSO Pitch Maneuver - impact on CloudSat

November 28, 2007

CALIPSO is planning to execute a pitch maneuver today to point 3 degrees in the forward direction. Tomorrow, CloudSat will move to a new formation position that is approximately 5 seconds forward from it's current position in order to continue to sample the same atmospheric volume as CALIPSO. This will put Cloudsat between 15 and 20 seconds in front of CALIPSO. Due to the modified view angle of CALIPSO, the combined product(2B-GEOPROF-Lidar) will have to be re-validated prior to release to the science community. The updated product is expected to be released to the CloudSat Science Team by March/April 2008 and to the general science community by May 2008. Check back for updates on those release dates.

R04 of 2B-FLXHR released to the general science community

November 5, 2007

Release 4 of 2B-FLXHR (Fluxes and Heating Rates) is now available to the General Science Community via the data ordering system.

All data users are asked to review the known issues page, on-line product specifications, and the summary of changes. If you have any questions concerning the ordering process, contact the DPC.

R04 Released to General Science Community

August 10, 2007

Release 4 of 1B-CPR, 2B-GEOPROF, and 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR is now available to the General Science Community via the data ordering system. This release incorporates several improvements for the data products primarily driven by the development of a surface clutter reduction scheme in 1B-CPR. This affects all products by improving cloud detection near the Earth's surface. In addition, the profile overlap at the beginning and end of each granule has been removed. Granules now start with the first profile on or after the equator on a descending pass and end with the last profile before the equator on the next descending pass. Release 4 also includes the first release of the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR product.

This annoucement to the General Science Community applies to the 1B-CPR, 2B-GEOPROF, and 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR products only. The new release of MODIS-AUX, ECMWF-AUX, and 2B-CLDCLASS is still only available to the CloudSat Science Team.

All data users are asked to review the known issues page, on-line product specifications, and the summary of changes. If you have any questions concerning the ordering process, contact the DPC.

R04 available to the Science Team

July 19, 2007

Release 4 is now available to the CloudSat Science Team via the data ordering system. This release incorporates several improvements for the data products primarily driven by the development of a surface clutter reduction scheme in 1B-CPR. This affects all products by improving cloud detection near the Earth's surface. In addition, the profile overlap at the beginning and end of each granule has been removed. Granules now start with the first profile on or after the equator on a descending pass and end with the last profile before the equator on the next descending pass. Release 4 also includes the first release of the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR product.

This annoucement applies to the 1B-CPR, MODIS-AUX, ECMWF-AUX, 2B-GEOPROF, and 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR products.

All data users are asked to review the known issues page, on-line product specifications, and the summary of changes. If you have any questions concerning the ordering process, contact the DPC.